CONDO BUZZ - Beyond Covid-19 - CCI Huronia
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PRESIDENT’S IMPACT OF COVID-19 POSITIVES OF UPCOMING
MESSAGE ON CONDOS COVID-19 WEBINARS
CONDO BUZZ
Beyond Covid-19
Your Condo Connection
CCI HURONIA SPRING 2021 NEWSLETTER 1
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Springing forward into life after COVID 19 (C-19) hits our minds like springing onto a moving target causing us to feel as if we are jumping from one floating lily pad to the next floating pad, with no certainty that dry land and stability ‘Post C-19’ really does exist. Nevertheless, human wisdom and endurance stands tall just as strong perpetual reeds and granite stone along shorelines proving that life really is indestructible and resilient. As are we. In this edition you will read about “better human beings” and “three pillars of optimal health” from our carefully selected writers who share of themselves in sending forth messages of value and encouragement. Bless each one, our growing membership and our dedicated volunteer CCI Boards in all parts of Canada who are diligently working forward, with much grace. Check us out at https:// cci.ca/ Condo world has evolved amidst C-19 challenges and we have made great strides. There is a keen awareness now as to what it really means to live in, use and consider shared living spaces. A year ago, the ride in the elevator to your suite or a walk through the halls was different. Remember when? We were unmasked, unafraid and somewhat unfamiliar with the characteristics of many physical spaces shared with our fellow residents. We learned to reduce touching even one elevator button or door handle and paused to evaluate in advance of hopping onto an already occupied elevator. Here we are – on the other side, almost. We have learned to take care, read signs, pause before charging ahead and stay distant yet feel some sense of joy at times in just seeing another set of eyes above a mask in our carefully approached community worlds. Remaining home has led to change (CHANGE) which is, in and of itself, a cornerstone of life. Wise folks declare, while becoming older and even wiser, that the hardest journeys yield the most powerful lessons. I agree and hope you can see the merit in the attitude of this live-love-laugh and learn perspective. Condominium structures evolve with time, as well, and newbies continue to be built while the pre- teens, teens and golden oldies anticipate what lies ahead. Reserve fund planners are taxed with new determinations as labour and material costs escalate. A 2x4x8 in spruce cost about $3 not that long ago. Currently the search is on at $8 to just find that same single piece of building material. Gas at $1 a litre disappeared and $1.30 is pretty well the new normal – for now. Real estate markets are soaring, and the change brought about as a result of forced, learned, and now preferred remote work environments is visible. Will we go back? For many, definitely not. Our condominium homes adapt perfectly to work from home spaces, and many theorize that an easier ‘life-work-play-chill balance’ is attainable from our cozy condominiums. CCI Huronia embarked, admittedly with some trepidation, into virtual offerings in March 2020. We are so thankful for the positive feedback from the many webinars and our ability to find a way to serve during hardship. CCI prides itself as a condominium support system. We will set sail, with less trepidation this time, into our maiden virtual ‘Two Day Condominium Course for Directors (& Others)’ on April 24 and 25. Our Board chose to keep costs lower than ever and the event sponsors have stepped forward to lend the needed helping hands. Even if you already know everything about condominiums, please consider passing along this invaluable learning opportunity to those you know who share the desire to grow, change and learn. Or perhaps our June ‘Wine & Wisdom’ chat is more suited to you and your friends? Either way, please review and share the opportunities. Visit: https:// ccihuronia.com/events/upcoming-events I will close with a bit of a twist and say welcome! Welcome to our Spring/Summer 2021 CCI Huronia Newsletter filled with ideas, inspiration, and invitations to connect plus learn. Please accept our warm best wishes for you, your families, and your shared condominium communities – with positive views toward life post C-19. Enjoy the read and pssst, yes, YOU, pass it along and pay it forward, please. It takes a village. Cheers! Debbie Dale President, CCI Huronia CCI HURONIA SPRING 2021 NEWSLETTER 2
MENTAL HEALTH DURING COVID-19 It is not infection from the virus which had the greatest impact on most people's health during this pandemic. We have all read about the deterioration in mental health since the start of the pandemic. There is documented increase in anxiety, eating disorders, drug overdoses, and calls to mental health hotlines. This is due to several factors, including social isolation and fears of infection. Exercise, Mindfulness, and Social Connection are what I call my three Pillars of Optimal Health. These are the foundations of our wellbeing, both physically and mentally. For many people, the pandemic wiped out two of these pillars instantly: Exercise and Social Connection. The closing of the gyms meant people stopped their exercise routines. We became fearful of being around other people. Here's the good news. We may not have control over the pandemic, but we have control over our reactions. Many people have used the pandemic as an opportunity to reflect on their life, the things they are grateful for, and self-growth. Many have used the time to explore Mindfulness to increase happiness. Social distancing does not mean social disconnection. We can check on our neighbours to alleviate their sense of social isolation. This simple gesture increases our own happiness level because we are happier when we perform acts of kindness. Until the gyms open, we can exercise outdoors like going for walks or runs. These simple strategies allow us to practise the Three Pillars, which in turn improve our immune system. A stronger immune system not only makes us less likely to get infections, but it also allows us to overcome any infections easier. After all, it is estimated that almost half of people with COVID-19 infection have no symptoms. These strategies are within our control. Dr. Mabel Hsin, M.D. CCI HURONIA SPRING 2021 NEWSLETTER 3
THE POSITIVE SIDE OF COVID-19
Although COVID has not been a picnic in the park, I do believe there is a silver lining to this
pandemic. Dr. Mabel Hsin, one of our frequent speakers on the CCI Huronia webinars has taught us
about gratitude and mindfulness. Taking her advice, I have reflected over the events of the past year
and have come up with my own Top Ten List of Positive Outcomes Attributable to the COVID
Pandemic. Here is my top Ten List what is yours?
Top Ten List of Positive Outcomes Attributable to the COVID Pandemic
1. Technology has allowed us to continue to operate despite lock downs and restrictions. While we
may have slowed down for a bit we did not stop. We are still moving forward with all aspects of
life. Just in a different way.
2. We have become more efficient thanks to technology. Much of the time wasted travelling from
one location to another has been eliminated. Now we can take that time and do something more
productive or enjoyable with it.
3. We are connecting with others despite the physical distance between us. Our physical location is
no longer a barrier. Think of all the people from across the country that were able to join CCI
Huronia in one of our many webinars. They would never have been able to attend one of our in
person events pre-COVID.
4. Virtual meetings and electronic voting have resulted in an overall increase in owner participation in
condominium matters. We always complained about owner apathy pre-COVID but are now
reporting record attendance at AGM’s and owner’s meetings.
5. Forced innovation has resulted in new and better solutions and practices in our homes, condos
and businesses. Many people are not planning on going back to the “old” way and will continue
using these new and better solutions going forward.
6. We have been reminded about the importance of good hygiene and have made lifestyle changes
that have improved our practices in this regard. These new practices not only help reduce the
spread of COVID but other diseases as well. It will keep us all healthier in the long run – I hope!
7. Patience is not just a virtue anymore but rather a necessary trait. The pandemic has honed our
ability to be patient and has given us lots of opportunity to practice this great trait over the last
year.
8. The pandemic has made us very aware that the we should not sweat the small stuff as there are
bigger issues that need our time, energy and attention. We have developed new perspectives
and a sense of appreciation and gratefulness like never before.
9. We have been reminded of our number one survival skill – the ability to adapt to change.
Humans have been adapting for thousands of years. It is part of our DNA and the basis for our
survival. The pandemic reinforces the value of this unique characteristic that we have which
keeps us from going extinct.
10. We have been reminded that there is no “i” in Condo – we are all part of a bigger community
which requires individual interests and desires be set aside for the greater good of the
community. We have seen many examples of communities coming together like never before to
help each other out during these difficult times.
When this crisis ends, we will be able to meet again but as better human beings.
Sonja Hodis
Condominium Lawyer - Hodis Law
CCI HURONIA SPRING 2021 NEWSLETTER 4
COVID-19 IMPACT ON CONDOMINIUMS The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about many impacts on condominiums. While some are restrictions on amenities and day-to-day living, some impact the condominium budget and operations. Over the last year we have seen significant increases in waste and recycling volumes for example. With many residents having to work from home or choosing to weather out the pandemic at their condo outside of the hotspots, there is an increase in waste and recycling which leads to higher disposal costs for many condos as well as increased cleanup costs when residents overfill receptacles or do not break down all those Amazon boxes. It also became apparent that residents were very supportive of their local restaurants and enjoyed more take out meals or ready to cook meals from their favourite establishments. While supporting local businesses was a fantastic benefit, it also increased household waste volumes. Many condos do not have municipal waste and recycling collection and must pay a service provider to collect their waste and recycling which is usually based on a set schedule and volume. When the schedule and volume increases, so too does cost. Many of our clients have seen their waste and recycling go over budget as a result. Another example of the impacts was realized with the higher snowfall amounts seen this winter. Parking lots that would often be somewhat empty during the day as residents left for work and school were suddenly full of vehicles. Additionally, most snowbirds did not travel south this winter and as a result were now occupying primary parking spaces. This made it challenging for snow removal crews to maintain a well cleared parking lot for residents. Snow removal companies had to adapt as did residents. The typical schedule from years past was not always conducive and return visits to clear snow became the norm and, in some cases, scheduling with residents to move vehicles to facilitate more effective snow plowing was required. Considering the higher-than-average snowfall this winter, most contractors really stepped up to the plate to keep up. Jeff Struewing Property Manager - Shore to Slope Management Services Inc. CCI HURONIA SPRING 2021 NEWSLETTER 5
HOW COVID-19 IMPACTED COMMUNICATING IN CONDOS Covid 19 has changed many things around us, most of all how we communicate, not only with our friends and family but within condominium communities as well. What in the past was okay, like "I'll be right there" became a process of determining: is it an emergency, do I have all the required PPE, can I bring the contractor with me or schedule separately? Email and pictures became our best friends in communicating issues with condominium residents. Many companies started to lose workers, often to the 14 day self isolation. Soon many of us started to experience frustration with new lockdowns and work often rescheduled. Most residents are patient and understanding but I'm sure all managers have heard from their residents: "don't give me the Covid 19 excuse" when a repair was rescheduled yet again. Board and owner meetings were impacted immediately with the first stay at home government order in March 2020. Quickly we learned and adapted to virtual meetings, the term "zoom meeting" has been added to our vocabulary. Virtual meetings are easy and convenient but they take away the personal touch, the gestures, the small talk, the "have you seen a picture of my new family addition"...... It is also apparent that different demographics are affected differently, the younger working population embraced it quickly and can't imagine going back to attending in person, virtual meetings are less time consuming, do not require a babysitter, you can even attend during your lunch hour. Older, retired population of directors have not embraced the virtual meetings as much, they miss the traditional in person meetings, especially the social aspect of them. Owners meetings have been impacted by the pandemic lockdowns even more than board meetings. Virtual owners' meetings are now the standard. New companies providing virtual meeting platforms have developed and perfected their services over the past 12 months. Although virtual owners' meetings take the social part of the meeting away they do provide a very efficient solution to conduct condominium corporation's business. Unfortunately virtual owners' meetings are more expensive, corporations have to budget additional funds to hold them. Corporations should also review their bylaws as current laws allowing owners' virtual meetings without the bylaw provisions are to expire on May 31, 2021. As we tiptoe out of the pandemic restrictions and look back on the past twelve months I am amazed how much we have accomplished so that life and business could safely go back to "normal", hopefully very soon. Looking beyond Covid 19 I believe virtual communication is here to stay whether it's virtual meetings or virtual inspections. Joanna Tomaszewski Property Manager - Bayshore Property Management CCI HURONIA SPRING 2021 NEWSLETTER 6
CONDOS, COVID, AND COMPLIANCE
Toronto Standard Condominium Corporation No. 1704 recently brought an application to prevent Ms.
Fraser from continuing repairs, contrary to its policy. Ms. Fraser's unit was flooded during plumbing
repairs in early 2020 and she requested permission to repair the damage to the floors of the unit. The
request seemed logical…. except for two things: a pandemic and the Condominium Corporation’s
COVID-19 policy and protocols.
The Condominium Corporation refused permission due to missing documentation at the outset. In
May 2020, the Condominium Corporation had implemented a policy to restrict repairs to units in
response to COVID-19. A notice was sent to all unit owners which said “currently, contractors are not
allowed to work in-suite unless it is considered emergency or essential services”. Between May and
July 2020, Ms. Fraser made further applications to repair the floors, but all were declined under the
policy. “What about my floor?” pondered Ms. Fraser, “I did not start the flood that caused the
damage!”
The Court in analyzing the evidence found that the Condominium Corporation's policy was valid and
was enforceable. The actions of the Condominium Corporation were not found to be unfair,
unreasonable or prejudicial towards Ms. Fraser. Ms. Fraser's repair was not an emergency or
essential service and was not necessary in the circumstances. The Court also found that the
Condominium Corporation had been consistently enforcing its policy.
The Court found that although a reasonable policy can become unreasonable if it is in place longer
than necessary, it was not the case for this circumstance because of the continuing prevalence of the
pandemic. The Court also confirmed two important principles:
1. The timing principle: a Condominium Corporation is not required to amend its policies at the
same time that the government bodies lift their emergency orders; and
2. The restrictiveness principle: Restrictions adopted by a Condominium Corporation may be
stricter than those in place by government bodies so long as those policies are reasonable.
Both of these concepts are important in the context of ensuring that Condominium Corporations
effect reasonable policies.
Condominium Corporations are private residences. They are governed by the Condominium Act.
Declarations, bylaws and rules. Within those parameters, the Condominium Corporation has the
ability to make decisions in the operations of the Condominium Corporation that ensure that the
environment itself is safe. Section 117 speaks to the Condominium Corporation being positively
obliged to ensure that no dangerous condition exists that could cause harm to property or to persons.
The pandemic is a real measurable pandemic.
This means the Condominium Corporation has a positive duty as we have seen across the Province,
to keep facilities clean, minimize or eliminate transmission by managing amenities in a way to as
reduce spread or eliminate spread of the virus and to manage people that come into the premises.
Everybody including construction workers, renovation or flooring experts all present a risk when they
enter into the Condominium Corporation. Nobody exactly can tell you where the flooring expert has
been in the last 12-14 days. This is why the use of policies that identify and address risk are the
strong foundation for compliance being upheld.
So what do the foundations look like? Temperature check and a questionnaire that is done
concurrent to the time that somebody is going to attend on the site. The assessment of competing
risks: a floor, which is not essential versus, the less people in the building, the better it is for the
community, is also a must.
The people who belong in the Condominium Corporation are, of course, the condominium residents.
After that, everyone else should be prioritized based on need and function in the overall scheme of
CCI HURONIA SPRING 2021 NEWSLETTER 7
the operations of the Condominium Corporation. One owner’s floor cannot trump over projects that must be done to ensure the integrity of the building or lands. If you have 15 projects and not all of them are equally important and you can only do five because of timing and cash, you will pick five out of the 15 that need to get done. This is when you are looking at resources generally. COVID-19 adds another layer to this thinking which is, how much time do you have, how much money do you have and which is going to present the least risk to the community and which is essential. If you have workers that have to do construction work on the buildings, which is a must because assets are failing. That means you are going to have and manage construction workers on site who increase the risk of transmission and hence the number of people that can expose your community to the risk. So accordingly, you are going to eliminate those nonessential construction workers or renovators or people because they are essential. In Ms. Fraser's case, replacement of the floor was not essential. If water had been flooding into her unit, yes that would have been essential, but that was not the case here. Condominium Corporations need to have good COVID-19 policies in place that makes sense for the community backed up by sound critical thinking and risk management strategies. This means resource investment into additional cleaning protocols, if there is going to be a degree of openness or permitted behaviours that further transmission. Remember Condominium Corporations are occupiers for liability as well. Boards of directors should also be passing resolutions that are detailed enough to outline the critical thinking of the Board and should be looking at these policies on a regular basis to make sure that they still have application and that they are reasonable in the circumstances to manage the risk of virus transmission and Boards should have very clear policies about in suite renovations. Finally, enforcement is key, having a policy and not implementing it, is in my opinion, a recipe for failure. Policies must be enforced consistently. Legal budgets must address these costs of doing business. Thus, keep the policy simple and enforce it consistently and revise it as necessary. We appreciate it has been a long road for many and that we are not out of this yet. Until we have immunization across the Province, this will be the circumstance under which condominiums must be making well informed and intelligent decisions for their communities as a whole, not for the interest of just one person. Do what is best for your community, stay safe! Patricia Elia Condominium Lawyer - Elia Associates CCI HURONIA SPRING 2021 NEWSLETTER 8
2021 WEBINARS: RECAP
Did you know that we recorded ALL our webinars this year? Zoom Meetings
Please click on the link below or copy and paste to revisit these
informative webinars.
https://ccihuronia.com/events/past-webinars
- January 12 - Condos and COVID Update Webinar
- January 27 - Intro to Condos Course
- February 19 - Lunch and Learn Webinar - Highlight into 2020
- March 26 - Lunch and Learn Webinar - 10 Fire Prevention Tips
for Condos
UPCOMING WEBINARS
March 26 - Lunch and Learn Webinar - Hot 10 Fire
Prevention Tips for Condos - 12pm - 1:30pm
April 15 - Board Meeting - 12pm - 1:30pm
April 24 & 25 - Director's Course - 10am - 3pm
May 12 - Lunch and Learn - 12pm - 1:30pm
May 20 - Board Meeting - 12pm - 1:30pm
June 8 - Wine and Wisdom - 7pm - 9pm
June 17 - Board Meeting - 12pm - 1:30pm
Sign up here: https://ccihuronia.com/events/upcoming-events
CCI HURONIA SPRING 2021 NEWSLETTER 9
SPONSORSHIP OPPURTUNITIES
Promote Your Business!
CCI Huronia is continuing with our successful webinar series
in 2021! Join the many sponsors who have used these
webinars to promote their business to our viewers from across
the province. With all in-person conferences and events still
being cancelled in 2021, sponsorship opportunities and the
ability to expose your business to potential clients is limited.
Our webinars are a great opportunity to remind your clients
and potential clients that you are there for them.
CCI Huronia has developed a strong following of viewers from
all over Ontario and even outside the province as a result of
our COVID webinar series and lunch and learn webinars held
in 2020. Our on-line learning events provide opportunities to
showcase your business to those that would be interested in
purchasing your products and services. Your exposure
continues as we post your logo and link to your website beside
our webinar recordings, which are available free of charge on
our website. Our viewers include condo owners, directors,
property managers and other professionals in the condo
industry.
Available dates include:
- April 24 - 25: Director’s Course CLICK HERE
- May 14: Lunch and Learn webinar CLICK HERE
MEET THE BOARD
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